Football

Football Falls to Salve Regina

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-Visiting Salve Regina held the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's football team to 137 yards and scored on two short drives and a fumble recovery in the end zone to defeat the Corsairs, 28-6, in a New England Football Conference Boyd Division game at Cressy Field Saturday evening.

The Seahawks broke on top with a five play, 61 yard drive midway through the second quarter. Junior quarterback Jimmy Connelly (Berlin, CT/Berlin HS/Southern Connecticut State) got SRU going when he completed consecutive passes of seven yards to senior wide receiver Nick Piscitelli (North Haven, CT/North Haven HS) and 17 yards to junior wide receiver Brian Smith (Tarrytown, NY Briarcliff HS/Iona), then pitched to junior wide receiver Michael Dargan (Meriden, CT/O.H. Platt HS), who took it the final 23 yards on a reverse to put SRU ahead, 7--0, with 5:25 left in the first half.

Salve Regina scored again in the waning moments of the first half. Junior linebacker A.J. Albert (Franklin Park, NJ/Immaculata HS) intercepted a pass by UMD sophomore quarterback Patrick Orlando (Manchester, MA/Essex HS/Saint Anselm) at the Corsair 30 yard line with 1:19 left in the first half. Connelly connected with junior wide receiver Patrick Keenan (Harrisville, RI/North Smithfield HS/Rhode island) six seconds before halftime to make it 14-0 at the intermission.

After a scoreless third quarter, SRU struck again. With the ball at the UMass Dartmouth four yard line, Orlando was sacked by junior safety Jeff Bartek (North Haven, CT/North Haven HS) in the end zone, and fumbled the ball. Senior safety Nick Jentz (Little ferry, NJ/Queen of Peace HS) recovered for a touchdown to make it 21-0 with 12:05 to play.

UMD sophomore kicker Edgar Osols (Summit, NJ/Summit HS) then executed a perfect onside kick, with freshman defensive back Wayne Bolz (Billerica, MA/Billerica HS) recovering at the Corsair 44. But the Corsairs failed to move. SRU scored their final touchdown after UMass Dartmouth failed on fourth down from their own 38 yard line with 3:31 remaining. Sophomore running back Trey Scales (Boston, MA/Concord-Carlisle HS) burst 21 yards for a score with 3:34 remaining to account for the final score.

Senior running back Eric Pacy (Rowley, MA/Triton HS/Salve Regina/Dean) led UMD on the ground, with 10 carries for 43 yards; Orlando was 11 of 27 for 49 yards, while McNeish was three of seven for 25 yards and a score. Senior running back Rob Lariviere-Tougas (Easthampton, MA/Easthampton HS) rushed 13 times for 85 yards for SRU, while Connelly was 15 of 28 for 213 yards, and Piscitelli caught five passes for 96 yards.
Junior defensive back Ross O'Toole (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth HS) led UMD defensively with 11 stops, including five solos. He also shared a tackle for lost yardage, and intercepted a pass and returned it for seven yards. Junior defensive end Shane Lange (Branford, CT/Branford HS) had 13 tackles for SRU, including five solos. He also had two and a half tackles for lost yardage, and a sack.

"It was an offensive struggle throughout the game, which put a lot of pressure on our defense. I'm proud of the way our defense played all game. They were put in some tough positions, and they fought hard to keep us in the game."

The Corsairs dropped to 2-4 and 1-2 in the Boyd Division with the defeat while the Seahawks improved to 2-4 and 1-2 in the Boyd Division with the victory. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they visit Nichols next Saturday. SRU will host Curry Saturday.